2014 Draft

Not too early to talk about this draft class. 2014 draft could seriously end up as one of the greatest draft class of all time.

Looking at some of the players that would be available all i can say is wow, impressive. One of the deepest draft class i've seen. Everyone should know Wiggins and Parker by now. But Randle is a stud as well. Marcus Smart i think is the real deal. His game reminds me a bit of Kyrie Irving. Andrew Harrison is another good looking prospect. Noah Vonleh is one of my favorite prospect in this draft. And another one of my personal favourite, not sure if he'd be available though but there are rumours that he could be is the Aussie Phenom Dante Exum(really would love to see him in a Raptor jersey).

I probably missed a couple more but teams that get a top 10 pick in this draft would get a really good player. Heck, i think you could get a really solid player at 15-20. 15-20 i think is Raptors territory.

Not too early to talk about this draft class. 2014 draft could seriously end up as one of the greatest draft class of all time.

Looking at some of the players that would be available all i can say is wow, impressive. One of the deepest draft class i've seen. Everyone should know Wiggins and Parker by now. But Randle is a stud as well. Marcus Smart i think is the real deal. His game reminds me a bit of Kyrie Irving. Andrew Harrison is another good looking prospect. Noah Vonleh is one of my favorite prospect in this draft. And another one of my personal favourite, not sure if he'd be available though but there are rumours that he could be is the Aussie Phenom Dante Exum(really would love to see him in a Raptor jersey).

I probably missed a couple more but teams that get a top 10 pick in this draft would get a really good player. Heck, i think you could get a really solid player at 15-20. 15-20 i think is Raptors territory.

What? You think Smart's game resembles Irving? I think that's one of the worst comparisons I've ever heard.

First off, defensively, Irving is an absolutely awful player. This is possibly Smart's best quality. He has the chance to be special on D, and possibly be the best defensive guard since Payton.

Secondly, offensively, he's not nearly the scorer that Irving is, and has a different game altogether with his size, but also his lack of a shot compared to Irving. Offensively is where it's hard to find a comparison. He's still raw, but also looks to be a triple threat in the making, especially if his shot improves. I have hopes he'll be better than disappointments like Foye and Stuckey here, and can see Tyreke Evans like ability, but with better intangibles that could make him a more consistent and reliable player. Though Evans is a bit taller, this is the guy he reminds me of the most.

Also, he's got great leadership qualities and a crazy competitive streak. This is an x-factor on both sides of the floor. IMO, Irving lacks in these areas, especially the former. Irving doesn't strike me as a very good leader. Smart is elite in regards to such intangibles. He always puts the work in, always plays for the team (not himself), and will always try to be the best and hardest working player on the court. This is a quality usually found in franchise-calibre players.

So yeah, I'm thinking best-case: Payton's D meets Evans' offense, or something along those lines.
Worst-case: Rodney Stuckey offensively, but still something like Payton, or even maybe Tony Allen-esque, for a different look, on D.
*Edit: It's hard for me to see him as bad on D, but also don't see him as being as limited with the ball as Tony Allen, or a guy like Avery Bradley who still needs to improve in that area.

His intangibles make me think his spectrum will depend only on actual talent ceiling, not utilizing it. He'll get however high he can, and hopefully that's a guy who can shut down either guard position, play point, play off the ball, and be one of the leaders of your team, or even the main leader and franchise player.

What? You think Smart's game resembles Irving? I think that's one of the worst comparisons I've ever heard.

Why do you have to be so bull-headed about it? As if your opinion holds more merit than his..not to mention, you just insult his opinion and don't even bother to explain why you did. You did in the next post, after he had the decency to ask. Even though, he had the right to be indecent about it.

If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

Why do you have to be so bull-headed about it? As if your opinion holds more merit than his..not to mention, you just insult his opinion and don't even bother to explain why you did. You did in the next post, after he had the decency to ask. Even though, he had the right to be indecent about it.

I didn't respond with a comparison of my own right away because I didn't have one. And as my eventual response might imply, I think it's really difficult to find a good comparison for Smart. There hasn't been an elite big guard who's more naturally a PG than SG in a while.

Secondly, I don't have to be able to come up with a comparison to know that Irving is an awful comparison. The lack of an immediate better suggestion/option does not make the initial one better, or give it more merit. If I compared Smart to TJ Ford, you wouldn't need a better suggestion to know mine is freakin awful.

Thirdly, why do you feel the need to stick your nose into it? You aren't even joining the debate. Just decided to hold something against me because I reacted strongly to his comparison, which I though maybe indicated he maybe has never even seen a highlight reel or scouting video on Marcus Smart.

I didn't respond with a comparison of my own right away because I didn't have one. And as my eventual response might imply, I think it's really difficult to find a good comparison for Smart. There hasn't been an elite big guard who's more naturally a PG than SG in a while.

Secondly, I don't have to be able to come up with a comparison to know that Irving is an awful comparison. The lack of an immediate better suggestion/option does not make the initial one better, or give it more merit. If I compared Smart to TJ Ford, you wouldn't need a better suggestion to know mine is freakin awful.

Thirdly, why do you feel the need to stick your nose into it? You aren't even joining the debate. Just decided to hold something against me because I reacted strongly to his comparison, which I though maybe indicated he maybe has never even seen a highlight reel or scouting video on Marcus Smart.

I didn't join in the debate because it was the wrong debate. You looked over the big picture and instead decided to focus on one little thing. One might say you felt the need to stick your nose in it, I'm just doing what you did to him back at you. Don't feed me crap like "I thought maybe he hadn't..." If you thought that you would have asked him. You presumed he didn't and that's why you reacted so prickish.

No, you see you do have to come up with an instant comparison because of the way you went about it. If you had of just asked him, it would have been fine not to have. If you didn't have a comparison, you should of said in your initial post.

I've no idea who Smart is. So, how do I know what comparison is bad?

If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

I didn't join in the debate because it was the wrong debate. You looked over the big picture and instead decided to focus on one little thing. One might say you felt the need to stick your nose in it, I'm just doing what you did to him back at you. Don't feed me crap like "I thought maybe he hadn't..." If you thought that you would have asked him. You presumed he didn't and that's why you reacted so prickish.
No, you see you do have to come up with an instant comparison because of the way you went about it. If you had of just asked him, it would have been fine not to have. If you didn't have a comparison, you should of said in your initial post.

I've no idea who Smart is. So, how do I know what comparison is bad?

Well the debate, or discussion, is on the 2014 draft. He's listing off prospects to paint it as a strong draft. That's nice. So I just picked the point that stuck out to me. Given the topic is the draft, that was this comparison to one of the top projected picks for next year. Don't see why I can't focus on this player for now. There's a year to discuss the many prospects.

My original response wasn't that prickish. Maybe it seemed that way to you. Maybe even to TRex. But it seemed to bug you more than it bugged him. I was definitely shocked, and I could see how it could seem condescending. But I don't think anyone who's seen Marcus Smart play would disagree that Kyrie Irving is a pretty strange comparison, to say the least. And it's not like he justified his comparison. I mean, if you compare a player to another who differs in skill-set and size, it wouldn't be bad to explain such a comparison.

And if you don't know shit, you should back the f*#k off, especially if you have nothing to actually add. Basically, to put this another way....If someone had said something that is completely false and proven to be so, but you are ignorant of it, and I responded with shock/surprise at his statement, you are defending his position while maintaining ignorance just because you don't like the tone of my response.

And again, just to re-emphasize....No, I really didn't have to have a better comparison on hand. Even with the way I responded. If someone is trying to tell me that a dog looks like a giraffe, I don't need to think of something a dog looks more similar to in order to respond with shock and seriously question the basis for such a comparison.

You can think I'm being a prick about it, but whatever man, you deliberately are deciding to be a prick back because you don't like it. And you're not joining the debate. And meanwhile you created a thread about "frustration" permeating these forums. Well it's certainly not going to help if everytime someone responds in a way that doesn't cut it with you, you decide interjecting in an aggressive, prickish way just for the sake of it (?). Are you on some kind of mission around here? I mean, TRex responded back, and I finally gave my justification for my surprise. So, what exactly is your problem?

I was in a rush and so I just posted that. When I had time to post to relate to the topic, I couldn't find it(I'm on the app).

And yeah, I'm a douche. But, I'll openly admit it.

As for the "debate". Yeah, so I heard it's a deep draft or rather has the "potential". Have to see these guys play some college ball and then it'll be easier to grade them on potential. Really comes down to who steps up during March Madness. It's not easy to comment right now on any of these guys.

If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

I was in a rush and so I just posted that. When I had time to post to relate to the topic, I couldn't find it(I'm on the app).

And yeah, I'm a douche. But, I'll openly admit it.

As for the "debate". Yeah, so I heard it's a deep draft or rather has the "potential". Have to see these guys play some college ball and then it'll be easier to grade them on potential. Really comes down to who steps up during March Madness. It's not easy to comment right now on any of these guys.

Marcus Smart has played college ball. There is quite a bit to evaluate him on, considering he was a projected top 5 pick for this past draft.

You should know by know that lbf doesn't watch basketball. He's just here to be a douche; the fact that he doesn't deny it isn't helping there. Somehow, these days, he's trying to combine being a douche with being a self appointed moderator.

You should know by know that lbf doesn't watch basketball. He's just here to be a douche; the fact that he doesn't deny it isn't helping there. Somehow, these days, he's trying to combine being a douche with being a self appointed moderator.

I agree he should definitely know by know that you've no idea what you're talking about.

If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

As much as Wiggins is hyped up, I think my other top options are Randle and Smart (hardly surprising). I think either guy could slide in as a core piece next to JV and still easily put this team on the path to being a contender. From an intangibles perspective, the prospect of pairing Smart with JV to be the leaders of the team is very appealing.

I'm not a big Parker fan. Maybe it's my Wiggins bias. I think he'll have to convince me with his college play that he's worth a top 3 pick. Interesting to note, since I just checked right now, nbadraft.net still has him at #2, but on draftexpress, he's listed at #6.

Of course, I have no clue what to think if the Raps end up in the 15-20 range, which would be the low-playoff seed range. Only names I know much about that could be in that range are McAdoo and Saric. Both are somewhat intriguing. Both also probably haven't shown as much progress as hoped by now.

draftexpress had Parker outside top 5 for a long time. It's a crap shoot right now anyway. A few of these guys will likely drop, some new ones will rise. As an example, I won't be surprised at all if Embiid shows good progress and goes very high in the lottery ahead of many of the current big names, he has the physical talent of an elite center prospect.

One thing probably won't change though -- it's an impressive draft class and ~top 8 picks would all likely go top 3 in an average draft.

draftexpress had Parker outside top 5 for a long time. It's a crap shoot right now anyway. Some of these guys will drop, some new ones will rise. As an example, I won't be surprised at all if Embiid shows good progress and goes very high in the lottery ahead of many of the current big names, he has the physical talent of an elite center prospect.

One thing likely won't change though -- it's an impressive draft class and ~top 8 picks would all likely go top 3 in an average draft.

Entirely likely. I probably haven't checked it since this past year's draft or around then.

I don't know this Embiid kid. Looks, as you say, to have th physical aspect. NOt sure that'll be enough to get into the high lottery if it does indeed stay such a strong draft. I also agree it's a crapshoot (as drafts tend to be) and there's bound to be some guys dropping far, and probably some randoms moving up. We'll see what happens. Maybe Smart will slide and fall right into our lap even if the team doesn't tank